Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down” played loudly for 15 seconds, until Alexa spoke: “Joseph, time to wake up.” Alexa repeated herself even louder. “Joseph, time to wake up.” If Joseph didn’t have music playing upon waking, he would go back to sleep.
“Remember, today is your dental appointment at 9:15 at Dr. Hardwick’s office,” said Alexa, as Joseph still struggled to open his eyes.
“Alexa, what time do I need to leave here?” asked Joseph in a groggy voice.
“Uber will pick you up at 8:25, given traffic and weather conditions today,” Alexa responded. “You’ll be in pod 1732. I will program your destination with Uber. Uber will let Dr. Hardwick’s office know you are on your way after you enter the pod.”
“Alexa, off,” said Joseph as he slowly got out of bed and went through his morning routine: showered, shaved, and dressed. Part of his shower routine included a two-and-a-half minute session with his “dental health guard,” an appliance he inserts twice a day that uses artificial intelligence and highly sensitive biosensors to spot damaging bacteria and destroy them with bacteria-specific nano-lasers. The tiny biosensors in his dental-health guard detect and diagnose bacterial activity, and nano-lasers are programmed to specifically attack the pathologic flora.
At 9:22, Joseph took the elevator down to the lobby and stood by the glass front door waiting for his autonomous pod to arrive. At 8:25 precisely, the three-wheeled pod — number 1732 — arrived.
Joseph hopped in, asked to listen to the morning news, and sat in the passenger seat in the front. “Arrival time will be 9:07,” the pod announced. “I will let Dr. Hardwick know your expected arrival time and give Dr. Hardwick’s office constant updates en route. And Joseph, remember to please confirm on your dentist app when you enter the building.”
“Routine as usual,” Joseph thought.
Joseph exited the pod at 9:09 — traffic had been bit heavier than expected. He hit his dentist app, which alerted the dental office he was entering the building. Because dental offices no long had waiting rooms, Joseph knew he would be met by a greeter who would take him directly back to an operatory.
The frequency of Joseph’s dental visits was determined by his current medical status, his dental history, his genetic predisposition to oral disease, his local bacterial ecosystem, and management of his risk factors. His dental-health guard recorded his oral health and dental status daily, and directly linked that information to his electronic patient record, as well as a running it through a wealth of evidence-based data — all living in the cloud, managed and constantly upgraded by artificial intelligence. Dr. Hardwick also had Joseph’s previous and current data in his digital dental records.
Joseph got off on the 22nd floor, took a right, and headed to Dr. Hardwick’s office. As he approached the door, it opened. Joanne greeted him warmly. “Hello, Joseph, welcome. How are you?”
“I’m good,” he answered.
After some pleasantries, Joanne said, “Follow me, Joseph.” Joanne paused a moment. “If you remember, I will take you back to your room, where a medical-dental assistant will review your health history, gather diagnostic data, and use an intraoral scanner to detect any abnormalities. Then the computer will read out any issues and what to do about them, if at all necessary. But for the last five years, no corrective action has been needed.” Joanne paused another second and said, “Please follow me.”
Joseph followed Joanne back to an operatory, which had his name and photo posted on the HD monitor above the door. As he stepped inside, he met Reza, a dental-medical assistant.
Joseph had been through this process many times before. First, Reza took his vitals: blood pressure, pulse, and oxygen utilization. Next came a finger prick for a complete blood analysis and a collection of saliva, also for analysis. Other diagnostics could be done if indicated by the computer, but Joseph was 42 and in good health, so no additional testing was recommended.
The exam consisted of a painless scan of soft tissue, teeth, and gingiva, followed by use of a stethoscope-like instrument to check out his TMJ. Joseph knew all the data was linked to his medical and dental information in the cloud, integrated with the rest of his medical and dental data. It could be reviewed in nanoseconds, and any diagnosis or recommended treatment would be displayed instantly.
Joseph couldn’t help but notice the new robot in the corner, now standing dormant. “Hey Reza, what’s the robot for?”
“That’s for doing fillings, crowns, implants and some limited gum surgery if needed,” Reza responded.
…Fact or fiction?
— Marc
